We thought we’d cast our focus over to Instagram, and dedicate this month’s roundup solely to the image based platform. From an Instagram video promoting a College event, to a pet campaign – here’s a roundup of the Colleges and Universities who’ve excelled on Instagram.

Eckerd College

This is one of the top performing posts from Eckerd College, who have encouraged users to share snaps of animals (real or not) in different locations. Hashtags such as: #Eckerdpets and #Petfreindlycollege have been used, which makes it easy for people to follow the series. This type of light-hearted material is a great way to show off a more friendly side to the institution; which could help settle the nerves of a future freshman. It also encourages both prospective, current and alumni pupils to get involved in the fun. Overall, a great opportunity to gather user-generated content.

A post shared by Eckerd College (@eckerdlife) on Jan 2, 2018 at 12:28pm PST

Commonwealth Baptist College

This College has used an Instagram video to promote one of their preaching conferences. Here the College have combined an announcement, with an interesting piece of creative content; which helps the advertisement to stand out to the viewer. It’s also a great opportunity for people (not just students) to get involved in these types of conferences, who are perhaps close to the campus. Instagram is used predominantly by young people; advertising religious conferences on this platform is a great way to reach out to a younger demographic – which young freshman pupils might not have come across.

Although it might be considered a safe option, a campus picture in the snow, from a beautiful angle, is always going to perform well on Instagram. Why is that you ask? The image speaks for itself, it doesn’t need a caption, it’s going to stand out on a busy newsfeed and it certainly shows off the picturesque campus at Harvard University. The University has credited the photo to another user; who is likely to be a pupil. This might inspire others to get involved and share images to the Institution’s social media team too. Going forward Harvard University could look to turning this into a competition, and the photo with the most engagement wins.

Clemson University has used Instagram to update their followers on their basketball team results. This is an excellent opportunity to combine news, with bold creative – which really stands out. The innovative design shows prospective pupils how important sport is for those who study at Clemson University. This type of content could be used to inspire prospective pupils, who are sport focused, to apply to the University. It also allows people to share (via regramming) the news to their own following, perhaps showing friends and family who may live far away?